The good thing is, he's a guy that has natural offensive talent. In junior, and minor, he was relied on to be the offense from the back end, and lead the rush. The adjustment to taking on another role takes time, and his skating ability allowed him to play both ways in junior without much thought. Unfortunately, this set him up for a tough adjustment at the pro level, where he's being asked to do things he wasn't asked to do at prior levels.

He's got the offensive ability, he anticipates well, good shot, good first pass, great skater. What he needs to do is learn when to back off, and when to jump the rush. This will come with time, and you have to be confident with a defensive specialist like Eakins teaching him. He's gonna take a little more time, but I think he'll be worth the wait.

I think its going to take Blacker a while to get to the NHL, but when he does will be as a top 4 blueliner. Probably used to getting away with certain things at junior, that he can't at the NHL level. In games I have watched, you can see the skill level, but looks to be thinking too much and not re-acting. Like you said, will take time to adjust.